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UHV passes all major standards during on-site accreditation visit

An accreditation review team that visited the University of Houston-Victoria earlier this week found the university passed all major standards and made one
recommendation about staff credentialing.

The visit by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges was part of the university’s accreditation review, which the
university must undergo every 10 years to remain accredited.

Wayne Beran

“The review team members were very positive about their visit,” UHV Acting President Wayne Beran said. “Out of the 119 standards UHV had to meet, the team
had only one recommendation regarding the qualifications of student affairs staff.”

Jay Lambert, UHV associate vice president for student affairs, has met with the staff involved and is working with them to comply with the recommendation,
Beran said. UHV has a plan in place so that this recommendation will not impact UHV’s accreditation.

UHV passed all the major standards, including the Quality Enhancement Plan, curriculum, faculty credentialing, general education, student services,
finances and facilities, federal requirements, internal assessment of operations and academic programs, Internet Technology and the library.

The university’s QEP is a required component of the accreditation review and is based on the theme “Living and Learning.” Starting in the fall, UHV
freshmen will begin to be part of residential learning communities that will integrate the academic and social aspects of the university.

Jeffrey Cass

It is expected that the participating students will have higher grade-point averages, better team-working skills, increased engagement with faculty and be
more likely to return to the university their sophomore year. By 2016, all incoming freshmen will be part of a residential learning community of 20 to 25
students.

“The review team members were very complimentary about our QEP and said they hoped to use some of the ideas at their own universities,” said Jeffrey Cass,
UHV provost and vice president for academic affairs.

In about a month, the 10-member review team will send UHV its draft report. UHV will send its final report to SACSCOC by Sept. 9 and should receive
official word about its re-accreditation by the end of the calendar year.

Based in Atlanta, SACSCOC is the accrediting agency for all public, private, and for-profit colleges and universities in an 11-state region from Virginia
to Texas.

The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973, offers courses leading to 70 bachelor’s, master’s and specialist degree
programs and concentrations in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face
classes at its Victoria campus, as well as a teaching center in Katy, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of
State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities, and the important role they have in providing
a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.